


Starscream's Big Little Problem

by turianjournalist16



Category: Transformers: Prime
Genre: Alternate Universe, Family Drama, Gen, Starscream adopts a sparkling, i dont understand tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-07-25 09:33:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16194824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turianjournalist16/pseuds/turianjournalist16
Summary: Starscream finds a sparkling in an autobot base and comes up with a scheme to raise it, however, things don't always go according to plan...





	1. Prologue

Starscream looked at the sparkling. The sparkling looked up at Starscream. He still couldn’t believe this tiny thing had survived the blast. Sparklings were vulnerable and the war had ceased really any creation of them on both sides, even if the conjux pair desperately wanted a child. It was just too dangerous. Yet this one had survived. Somehow. The blast had even taken out some decepticons, it had been so big. How? The room was a small one. It was slightly reinforced, but the wall closest to the explosion was gone and a lot of the ceiling had caved in. All other life forms had been offlined. It’s why he personally came to see who had survived. Perhaps the parents had built the child a protective shield that was now broken? Or maybe it was luck? He didn’t believe in luck, so it had to be the former. It was too bad the parents didn’t have to same sense to protect themselves. Autobots were too selfless. 

The sparkling’s big blue optics looked up at him. Typical for an autobot. It’s only defining feature was the color blue starting to come in on it’s chassis. It reached both servos out to him from the cradle it was laying in and began to whine. Starscream gave it a disgusted look. No, tiny autobot. He was not it’s parent and he certainly wasn’t looking to become one. Children were an exploitable weakness. It was something he used against others, especially organics, to get what he wanted from them. This one would prove to be a hindrance as well. Autobots didn’t have many fliers. They were normally smaller too. He would just have a useless brat to deal with. 

_ Smack! _

He rubbed the side of his head as he looked for who had dared thrown something at him. Only the sparkling was in the room. He looked down by his feet to see a small toy plane laying there. The sparkling started to wail, still reaching out for him. Huh. He bent down to pick up the toy and then walked over to the sparkling. The little brat had gotten his attention back. He looked down at it. The wailing was quieting down now that he was standing over it. It’s arms were still reaching up to him. Well, it certainly wanted him to stay no matter how much of a bad idea that was. How long would it take the autobots to get here? The reason this outpost had been so easy was because it was a remote research facility. Any long range scans showed the nearest autobot ship to be at least three months away. 

Momentarily setting down the toy, he reached into the cradle and picked up the little sparkling. It quieted completely. When he put a finger above it, the sparkling grabbed on and started laughing. Huh. The little brat was happy to be near him. No one had liked being near him in a long time. It had a strong grip too. Perhaps...perhaps he could use this sparkling to his advantage. While sparklings were a nuisance, he knew people still wanted them. Even some of the harder decepticons grew a little softer if sparklings were mentioned. It he adopted this child, he might become untouchable. Not only that, he’d have someone who would care about him unquestioningly. A bot who could take his place if necessary. 

The little sparkling still looked up at him. Starscream smiled at it, saying, “Well, little one, it seems I’ve rescued you from the horrible autobots. You’re mine. Now you just need a fitting name. Hmmm…” 

He thought for a moment, but footsteps interrupted him. Expecting one of his men, he turned to see a badly wounded autobot pointing a gun at him. The autobot was practically mutilated with energon pouring from him. It was a miracle he could still move, never mind fire a gun. Yet, this was Starscream’s luck. What was left of the autobot was a hulking brute of a mech. All the missing pieces and leaking energon made it hard to tell what his altmode was, though. Or even who it was. Starscream was going to have a little chat with the decepticon who told him the place was clear of all life signs save the sparklings. Clearly, they needed to see a medic for a tune up. 

“Put...the...sparkling...down...con…” 

Starscream shook his head. “No, you stupid autobot. Why would I give a dead man a child? That would be irresponsible.” 

The autobot leaned against what remained of the wall for support. Starscream could probably lightly tap him and he’d fall over dead. Too easy. Placing the sparkling back down into the cradle, Starscream grinned. Not only would he be “rescuing” this sparkling from the autobots, he would kill the one who had held it “captive.” It was a nice narrative to give when the sparkling was old enough to understand. A narrative that would keep the sparkling in the decepticon fold. 

Before the autobot had time to react, Starscream fired one of his missiles at him. It was a direct hit. The autobot was blasted back into the wreckage, never to be heard from again. However, the noise made the sparkling cry again. The smirk Starscream was wearing was quickly taken off as he turned back to the sparkling. It would need to get used to loud noises. It would also need to stop making loud noises of its own it if it wanted to survive among the decepticons. He couldn’t yell at it too much, or treat it like a subordinate as it grew; that would drive it away. Whether it would run to another decepticon or the autobots would have the same results. He needed to keep it on his side. 

“You still need a name,” Starscream said, picking the crying sparkling up to soothe it. “Hmm…” Once the child was securely in his arm, he grabbed the little toy it had thrown at him earlier. “Crux. That’s going to be your name.”

He began to make his way out of the destroyed base, Crux in his arms. The sparkling had calmed down now. It was distracted by the light coming in from the destroyed roof. Occasionally one of Starscream’s seekers flew overhead, making the child do it’s best to follow it without leaving the safety of Starscream’s arm. After a few minutes of this, the sparkling’s optics began to dim. By the time the two were out in the open, it was fast asleep. 

Ignoring the grunts staring at the little sparkling, Starscream commed the  _ Nemesis _ . “Yes, this is Commander Starscream. Begin preparations for a medical examination when I come aboard. We have a new recruit.”  


	2. Chapter 1

* _ Earth, however long later* _

Crux had been told to stay off of the bridge. Starscream had meant that he stay in his room and play with his toys or practice reading. He should have been that specific. Crux zoomed around the corner, finding a nice little crevice to hide in. The vehicon assigned to chasing him zoomed right past him. They always fell for that. He didn’t know how much longer he could pull off this little stunt, though. It was starting to get a little harder to squeeze into the little indent in the wall and he was still growing. Eh, he’d just have to figure something else out. After all, Starscream always said to have an escape plan. You never know when things wouldn’t go your way. 

Once the coast was clear, Crux wiggled himself out of the crevice, wincing as his wings, back, and chassis scraped against the wall. Some of his paint came off. He hit the floor with a loud clang. Oh no. He could already hear the tires screeching to turn around. It wasn’t fair that everyone else could transform whenever they wanted, but he needed adult supervision. He began to run. There was a vent he could get into around the corner. If he could make it to that, he’d be free. Unless Soundwave sent Laserbeak after him, but Starscream had been upset when he first told Crux to stay off the bridge. Something must be happening. That meant he was low priority for everyone except his babysitter. He needed to find out what was happening. Maybe it was Lord Megatron returning from his mission! 

The vehicon was gaining on him. He wasn’t exactly planning on being dragged back to his room, though. Well, this was an emergency. Technically. To him. He could use his altmode in emergencies. Starscream wouldn’t be mad if he just said he was practicing to be as good a flyer as him. It worked every time. He transformed, hearing the vehicon swear behind him. Suppressing a laugh, he kicked on his thrusters and wobbly zoomed down the corridor. Okay, he actually needed some practice. Starscream just didn’t let him out a lot. 

He turned another corner, knowing he only had a few more feet to go. He needed to transform back. Oh no. How did he...he’d never been really good at landing. Trying to slow down, he began to transform back. Unfortunately, he missed the vent that he wanted to get into and ended up falling on the floor. He slid for a few more feet before coming to a complete stop at someone’s ped. Looking up, he saw another vehicon. He was in trouble now. Going limp in defeat, he let the other vehicon pulled him to his peds, hearing the one that had been chasing him transform. Maybe, they wouldn’t call Starscream? After all, he’d basically escaped by faking being sick and running when the vehicon had left to get energon for him. 

That wasn’t going to happen. “Sir, we have Crux. Do you want us to bring him back to his room?” After a moment of silence, the vehicon nodded. “Alright, we’ll come immediately.” 

Much to Crux’s horror, the vehicon began to drag him towards the bridge. Crux dug his heels in. “Please, no. I won’t do it again, I promise! I’ll go back to my room and sit on my bed and read. I’ll just read! Quietly! I’ll read  _ Towards Peace!  _ That’s a big book, you know.” 

“Commander Starscream wants to see you on the bridge,” was all that the vehicon said. 

Crux groaned, still struggling as he was dragged across the  _ Nemesis.  _ Starscream was going to be upset. He didn’t want to get yelled at. He just wanted to know what was going on. It’s not fair. Why did he get to know about everything last? No one had told him Megatron left two years ago until he asked Starscream where he was...three months later. He’d lived on this ship his whole life, why didn’t they trust him yet? 

 

******  
Starscream wiped Cliffjumper’s energon off of his hands. What a waste. The energon was lost and there were Autobots roaming around on this mudball. He’d spent the last two years keeping the Decepticon energon mining under the radar, even from the inhabitants of this planet themselves. Now, he might have maybe a day or two of the element of surprise. To make matters worse, Soundwave was insisting that he was beginning to pick up Megatron’s signal out in the depths of space. And here Starscream was hoping the big fool had gotten himself crushed by the pressure of some gas giant. On top of all that, Crux was acting out. Again. He wasn’t even at the right age for rebellion yet. 

Speaking of who, he heard Crux’s little voice pleading with the vehicon not to bring him here. At least he was practicing bargaining out of his own mess. Shaking his head, Starscream walked towards the entrance of the bridge so Crux wouldn’t have to see the remains of an autobot being cleaned up. Call him paranoid, but he worried that seeing the autobot symbol would awaken something in the little one’s coding. After all, Crux’s parents had been Autobots. While your faction was a choice, all the Autobots he’d met were the self-righteous, do-gooder type. That got them killed. The book he read on sparklings had said some personality coding was inherited. While he didn’t trust that too much, considering it was a contradiction to all modern thoughts on the subject, he didn’t want to risk it. 

Just as the vehicon was about to round the corner with Crux, Starscream stepped out in front of them. “Get on the bridge to help with a little... _ mess _ . I’ll take matters from here.” 

The vehicon nodded and did as he was told. Starscream looked down at Crux. It wouldn’t be too much longer that he could do that. The young mech was two-thirds of the way to his shoulders and still had a long way to grow. According to the medical scans, he was a shuttle. Starscream hadn’t seen someone like that since he’d last seen Jetfire, but he didn’t like to dwell on that too much. The important thing was that Crux wouldn’t be a tiny weakling like he’d worried he’d turn out to be. Even Megatron had seen the value of keeping the sparkling with the Decepticons. Besides, it was a good thing Starscream had found the child. The Autobots probably would have just used him for transportation. 

Crux was staring down at his peds. Starscream had done his best to make the child appear to be a Decepticon sparkling. He’d changed Crux’s servos to resemble the more claw-like nature of an average Decepticon and added red and black accents to his paint job. While optic color wasn’t something that could be helped, he could explain it away as cross-faction...liaisons. It was just enough that, Primus forbid, an Autobot found him, they wouldn’t look too much into his parentage and return him to the Decepticons. After all, Autobots would still follow rules written by long dead bots. The only problem was that Crux looked nothing like Starscream. While adoption wasn’t unheard of, it would cast doubt on them both. Starscream would deal with that when it happened, though, and it wouldn’t happen until Crux was old enough to join the fight. If the war was still happening. 

“When I tell you to stay off the bridge and assign you a caretaker until I am done, you are to behave and stay in your room. Are we clear?” Starscream said, keeping his tone even. Dealing with Crux wasn’t like dealing with an underling,he couldn’t screech at him for not following orders. 

Crux nodded, still not looking up at him. “I just wanted to know what was going on.” 

Naturally. The little mech wasn’t an idiot. Starscream wouldn’t let him grow up to be one. He’d know when something was wrong just from the clues laid out in front of him. What he didn’t need to know was that, once again, the war was on their very doorstep despite Starscream’s best efforts to remain hidden and gather resources. It was too early if Cliffjumper was acting alone--most likely not--and if there had been a call for reinforcements. While he trusted the  _ Nemesis _ to remain hidden for a while, if this became a huge conflict...he didn’t want to think about that. 

“It’s too early to know, little one.” Starscream said in a softer tone, putting a hand on Crux’s shoulder. “Just always do as I say.  _ I  _ know best.”

Crux looked up at him with his big blue optics now, a little defiantly too. “That’s not an answer. Why can’t I know? I’m old enough!” He stamped his ped. “I live here too!”

“Because you are still a child and these are adult matters.” 

This was his fault. Starscream taught him to be this argumentative. Crux should question when someone in a position of power is making decisions he didn’t like, but that wasn’t supposed to be turned on him. After all, Crux running away would be counterproductive. Not to mention spark-attack inducing. Plus, there’d be a number of Autobots ready to get him to spill every single secret about the  _ Nemesis _ and Starscream himself. It was bad enough he had to worry about Megatron trying to get Crux on his side, 

Huffing, Crux looked away and muttered, “Lord Megatron would tell me.” 

Okay, this needed to end before it began. Tightening his grip on Crux, “Look at me.” He waited for the little mech to turn his head before continuing, “Megatron is not your parent. He isn’t even here right now. Like it or not, I am in charge of you and I say that you aren’t ready to know right now.” He let his tone and grip soften again. “You’re a smart one and you’ll be a great asset to the Decepticons,  _ to me _ , one day. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Ah hah!” The little mech’s optics brightened. “So there is something dangerous going on! I knew it!” 

Starscream faltered for a moment, but then regained his compuse. “Yes, yes, you’re very smart, we established this. It will be handled, though, so do not worry. Can I hug you and bring you back to your room now since you’ve figured it all out?” 

Crux nodded, apparently so caught up in his excitement about being proven right about half of the situation that he’d forgotten to figure out the other half. Starscream would have to clear up that gap in his education later. The little mech excitedly hugged him. Hugs were very important to a sparkling’s social development, according to the book Starscream had read. Then, Starscream took his hand and allowed Crux to ramble on about his grand escape from the vehicon as he brought him back to his room. Ah, that detail. He’d have to come up with a punishment for that later. Soundwave was still pinging him about the bridge and some vehicons had found more Autobots. 


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This kinda gets a little dark...mostly because the show got a little dark...

Crux was reading another boring history book about Cybertron when he heard arguing. Looking over at the vehicon assigned to babysit him, he grinned at seeing he was deeply in recharge. Slipping off his berth as quietly as he could, he snuck across his room, constantly looking back over at the vehicon in case he woke him up. Starscream’s punishment for him was to sit in his room quietly and read. No fun allowed. At least until tomorrow. It was boring. The vehicon had been told not to talk to him and make sure he read through the book. After that, he’d need to write an essay on why the Decepticon’s were right. That was easy, though. He was pretty sure Starscream wouldn’t even read the essay, but he didn’t want to get into more trouble by arguing. He’d be quick listening to whoever was out there. 

Every door on the  _ Nemesis  _ had a way to listen to people outside the door. They could also hear you. It was a good way to see who was at the door and give quick messages. Crux was also pretty sure it was how Soundwave knew everything on the ship, but he could be wrong. He didn’t need to stand on the tips of his peds to turn on the system anymore. He could even turn it down so he wouldn’t risk waking up the vehicon and getting into more trouble. Perfect. Now, he just hoped it was something good. Or funny. 

“... _ am raising him to be a fearsome,  _ intelligent _ , warrior, _ ” Starscream’s voice buzzed through. Crux leaned in more. 

“ _ You’re raising him to be another you, the last thing the Decepticons need. _ ” That voice, it was Lord Megatron! No one had told Crux he was was coming back. “ _ My interference is necessary.” _

“ _ I kept our energon stores well stocked and us undetected for the past two years. All while you were fragging around in--”  _

“ _ Enough! Would you like a medal for not burning down the  _ Nemesis _? I was out there trying to end the war, not fight over scraps like a bunch of scraplets.”  _ There was a pause and some muffled grunts. “ _ Maybe, if you let Crux--” _

_ “Absolutely not! We agreed that it was too dangerous without that--Shockwave!” _

_ “Perhaps, Starscream. We’d be doing a lot better if we had more than just vehicons at our disposal. You had no problems when it was other bots’ younglings.” _

There was a long pause. Crux leaned in closer as if that would help him understand what they were talking about. He knew it was about him. That was a nice change of pace from their normal arguments about how the Decepticons were being lead or who was the most stupid out of the two of them. When he was younger, they didn’t argue this much. At least, if they did, they would send him out with a vehicon or Soundwave for a “private discussion.” When he’d come back, they’d be okay again. Something happened. He didn’t know what, but it was something that Starscream would never forgive. Not that he forgave anything...unless Crux did it. 

“ _ Touch  _ my  _ sparkling and I’ll--” _

The sound of the vehicon moving made him quickly shut the system off and rush back over to his berth. He hopped back on it and picked up the history book before the vehicon’s optics came back online, flipping a few pages ahead in case the vehicon looked. Whatever that argument had been about, it probably didn’t mean anything. Most of their arguments didn’t nowadays. Starscream would probably come into his room later, fall face first onto his berth, and complain about it to him. Crux didn’t understand what Starscream was complaining about all the time, Lord Megatron was obviously not a “slagging fool whose processor got eaten by scraplets” if the Decepticons had made it this far. 

Crux heard the door slide open, followed by the sound of the vehicon scrambling up. “Lord Megatron! Commander Starscream!”

Looking up from the book he was pretending to read, Crux smiled before jumping off of his bed to stand at attention next to the vehicon. Technically, he’d been told that he didn’t need to do this just yet, but it was good practice for when he would. While Starscream kept insisting the war would be over by the time he was old enough to fight, he doubted rank would disappear. How else were they going to keep order? 

“Leave us,” Lord Megatron said to the vehicon. 

The vehicon gave a salute before walking out of the room. Once the door was shut, Lord Megatron walked over to Crux, Starscream following close behind him, posed to either strike or run. Crux hadn’t seen him like that in a long time. Or he hadn’t been allowed to see him like that in a long time. Either way, it made him nervous. 

Before he could think about it anymore, Lord Megatron spoke. “You’ve grown a lot in my absence. Have you been practicing flying?”

“A little bit.” Crux said, looking away for a moment. “I’m still not very good at landing, but Starscream says my take-off is really good. Do you want to see?” 

Lord Megatron smiled which made Crux stand a little taller. It was very hard to get Lord Megatron to smile, according to everyone on the  _ Nemesis _ except for Soundwave. He was going to be a very good Decepticon when he was older. He just knew it. Starscream had been telling him that for a while now, but it was nice to get confirmation from Lord Megatron himself. This was great! Why did Starscream look disgusted? Was something wrong? It probably had something to do with that argument he and Lord Megatron had. 

“I do. Why don’t you come with Starscream and I to the energon mine and show me?” 

Crux smiled widely, barely stopping himself from jumping up and down. “I can? Really? Starscream, can I?” 

“Absolutely--” before Starscream could finish, Megatron gave him a hard look, making a brief gesture at the cannon on his arm, “--yes. As long as Lord Megatron deems it safe for you and you stay  _ very close to me _ .” 

Crux was already nodding vigorously, blue optics shining bright. Finally, he was going to be able to see what the Decepticons were doing. It was one thing to hear about it over the comms or see it on the monitors, but now he was actually going to be able to actually see it. Plus, he was going to show Lord Megatron how well he could fly! And Starscream had been worried when he had Soundwave open the groundbridge for Lord Megatron to return. Things were going great...well, besides that one argument. It was probably nothing. He followed Lord Megatron and Starscream out of his room, practically skipping. 

 

*************

If Starscream killed Megatron right now, could he claim that he was protecting his sparkling? Soundwave probably wouldn’t be happy. He wouldn’t even be able to tell if that infuriating silent mech understood. What he did know was that Soundwave was just as loyal to the Decepticon cause as he was to Megatron, so he wouldn’t betray Starscream over it. Besides, he’d be protecting the cause’s future from a lunatic who thought it was a good idea to bring a youngling out into the open when there were Autobots roaming around. One who was currently struggling to keep up with the two of them despite all his practice. Crux wasn’t old enough to reach the speeds they could. He was close, but not close enough. If they lost track of him out here...Starscream would definitely kill the slagging glitch next to him. Everyone would probably see it as a heroic act too. 

At least Crux was flying a lot straighter than he had been. The wind was causing some problems, but that would be compensated for in time. There’d been no further reports of encounters with Autobots after the last little spat between a few vehicons. It was safe to assume that they still hadn’t figured out where the  _ Nemesis _ was or where the energon mine was, but he didn’t trust it. Autobots had a few good stealth operatives among them. While he knew they wouldn’t kill a child like Crux, they certainly would see it as their moral obligation to “save” him from the nasty Decepticons. He hated their morals. 

Luckily, the mine wasn’t that far from the  _ Nemesis _ at the moment. It was the only reason Starscream hadn’t broken Crux’s little spark by insisting they take the groundbridge for safety reasons. That and he took a few of the flyers just in case there were any Autobots. As much as he hated this, he didn’t want to put any unnecessary strains on his and Crux’s relationship. He could grow up to resent him which would make this whole exercise extremely counterproductive. How was Crux going to be his permanent ally if he resented him? It shouldn’t bother him this much. He’d been rejected by people he thought cared about him countless times, most recently by the high and mighty Megatron, but Crux was different. He could already feel his spark ache at the thought of losing this parent/child relationship. 

As they approached their destination, Starscream commed Crux. “ _ Start slowing down and descending now, otherwise you’ll hit the mountain. Do not begin to transform until I say so. I don’t want you to fall out of the sky.” _

_ “Okay!”  _ Crux’s voice was high-pitched with excitement. 

Crux did as he was told, occasionally needing to be told to speed up or move to the right a little. Starscream knew he was doing better. He was nowhere near ready for...how could Megatron even think of that? Had the old fool finally become fully consumed with the war? Besides, back when they still...when Starscream had been ensnared by Megatron’s empty promises, Megatron had made him a promise to let Crux grow up like a normal sparkling would have. Like how the Autobots were most likely raising whatever sparklings they had. Those idiots at least had one thing right. Was Megatron about to break his final promise to him? Starscream wouldn’t let that happen. 

They made it into the mine without a scrape. Thank Primus. Now they just needed to transform back without Crux falling off a ledge. “ _ Transform now! Aim for the area closest to the wall.”  _

Starscream himself landed with the grace that came with years of doing this. Megatron landed like the brutish warlord he was. Crux wobbled a little and Starscream almost had a spark attack as he came dangerously close hitting the rock face, but he managed to land on his own two feet...then he fell back with a little “oof.”  To his credit, the little mech picked himself up quickly and with a smile. Okay, maybe Crux was better than Starscream gave him credit for. To be fair, the little mech had completely missed his destination just yesterday and ended up sliding across the floor. 

Rushing over, Starscream immediately knelt down to inspect Crux. “Starscream, I’m fine.” 

“Only when I say you are.” Starscream turned little Crux around just to make sure he hadn’t damaged anything in his small fall. 

Megatron had walked over to the edge to get a view of the whole mining operation. “You’re smothering him, Starscream. He did excellent. You’ve managed to do at least one thing right.” 

Starscream wanted to glare at Megatron, but, for the safety of both himself and Crux, decided against it. Instead, he wiped a bit of dirt off of Crux’s wing before standing up. “Of course, my lord. Forgive my worrying, I only meant to protect part of the Decepticon’s future.” 

There was no further comment on that except what sounded like a laugh from Megatron. Crux was beaming. While he should be proud for what he accomplished, Starscream knew it was because the old fool had complimented the little mech. Breaking Crux of this idolization of Megatron was going to be hard and it was partially Starscream’s fault. After all, Megatron had helped raise Crux when he was a lot younger. They would have been considered a family if the war wasn’t going on and ulterior motives weren’t in play. He should have just raised Crux on his own. 

Wanting to draw the subject away from Crux in general, Starscream said, “This is the largest mine we have thus far, my lord. We have been able to mine completely undetected and this will keep our stores filled for the next few years at the least, barring no sudden increase in demand.” 

Megatron  just nodding. “I would say that I’m impressed, if I hadn’t found a way to end this war while I was ‘fragging around.’” 

Starscream suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, wondering what they had been arguing about if this plan was going to end the war. At his side, Crux was looking up at Megatron in awe. Of course. The little mech hadn’t been there for the other millions of times Megatron guaranteed to end of the war. For Crux’s sake, he hoped this one would actually work. Then Starscream might be able to raise the little mech without everyone scrutiny. Or interference. Unless this plan killed Megatron, which would be better. He wouldn’t have to worry about Crux anymore and he’d lead the Decepticons. Everything he ever wanted, none of the work. Well, until he had to out-maneuver the Autobots. 

Megatron pulled out a glowing crystal of...purple energon? “Behold, Starscream, dark energon.”

“Dark energon? The blood of the unmaker?” Starscream almost instinctively put a protective hand on Crux, who was staring at the purple energon . “I heard it was the anti-spark, that it could do things...like bring back the dead.” 

A thing like that would be powerful, if it was true. How many Cybertronian dead were littered around this galaxy? Millions. To raise an army of them would turn the tides of the war. Maybe Megatron would actually succeed in ending this war, if this was true. Starscream had his doubts. Chasing fairytales? They must truly be desperate. Then again, probably everyone was desperate for this to come to an end. For a decisive victory and order to be restored. Decepticon order. With Starscream slowly maneuvering his way to leadership and Crux well away from being forced to fight in a war that wasn’t even his. 

“Indeed, Starscream. Would you relinquish your spark to test this theory for the Decepticon Cause?” Megatron had that look in his eye that told Starscream he meant it. 

He felt Crux go stiff against him. “Me?” He said a little too quickly, then he regained himself. “That won’t be necessary, my lord. I have a gift for you.” Before comming the vehicons to bring Cliffjumper’s body up, he knelt down to Crux. There was oil welling up in the little mech’s big blue optics. “Why don’t you go and find me a the best chunk of energon, I’ll show you the refining process when we get back.” 

Crux gave a little nod before running off. Once Starscream was sure he was well-enough away, he had the vehicons bring Cliffjumper’s body. Most of the bright red paint had been lost in the battle with the vehicons. The hole in his chest that Starscream had made stood out like a badge. At least all the energon had been drained from him. Not everything had to be wasted. Even Megatron looked, briefly, a little impressed that Starscream had managed it. Apparently, he’d missed every other thing Starscream had done during the war. Or he was too busy looking at Starscream’s other...assets. It wouldn’t be surprising. 

Megatron plunged the dark energon into Cliffjumper’s chest. It sunk in and gave the body a sickening purple glow. Then...nothing. Of course the stories weren’t true. Just tales meant to scare children away from the stuff if they ever happened to find any of it. 

He was about to say something scathing when the body began to shake. The thing that began to arise sent a chill in his spark. It shambled for a moment, then ran straight at Starscream. He screamed, throwing his arms up and jumping out of the way. Before the creature could attack, he heard the sound of a blade cutting through metal, then the clang of metal on rock. He looked to see a half of the body laying in a pool of purple energon. Megatron stood with his blade still drawn, grinning. 

“That’s your plan! Bring autobots back from the dead to attack us!” Starscream screeched, trying not to think about what would have happened if Crux had still been here. 

Megatron was still grinning. “That wasn’t an autobot, Starscream. Not anymore. I just need a way to control it.”

Starscream hoped this endeavor would kill him. Painfully. Slowly. Humiliatingly. He also hoped this plan would work. For Crux’s sake. He went to comm one of the vehicons to find Crux and bring him back, knowing this was probably over. However, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the little mech come up the walkway holding a small chunk of energon close to his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, I love Megatron. He's gonna kinda be a terrible person in this, though.


	4. Chapter 3

_ *The  _ Nemesis _ years ago* _

Megatron was sitting at his desk going over the latest field reports from Starscream when he noticed a shadow at the door. It was too small to be Soundwave. A vehicon wouldn’t dare disturb him unless it was an emergency, and he didn’t hear any alarm bells going off nor an alert from Soundwave. The little shadow was also too small to be a vehicon, anyway. That left…

Starscream’s adopted sparkling was standing in the doorway, holding onto a little toy plane in one arm. The big, blue optics looked both tired and terrified. A nightmare. Megatron had seen Starscream get pulled away enough times by this very situation to know what it was. For being the most selfish being in the universe, Starscream doted on this child. He’d heard that’s what sparklings did to people, though. It’s part of the reason why he’d agreed with Starscream’s almost completely insane idea of raising some dead autobot’s sparkling as a decepticon. If Starscream was busy tending to scraped knees and bedtime stories, he wouldn’t have time to try to overthrow him. In fact, for the first time in a long time, they were getting along. 

The little sparkling waited nervously in the doorway. His little wings were drooping. Sighing, Megatron waved him over. He had a feeling that if he just sent the little mech back to bed without addressing the issue, Starscream would screech at him...and not in a good way. “What is it, Crux?”

Crux quickly ran over to him. “Lord Megatron, I had a bad dream. Starscream didn’t come back and then the autobots kidnapped me.” 

_ That would actually be a rescue.  _ Megatron pulled Crux up onto his lap, feeling the little mech stiffen slightly before relaxing again. It was a little awkward. Megatron still didn’t understand how Starscream, of all people, had mastered comforting the little sparkling. He doubted Starscream’s upbringing had been a pleasant one. Starscream could also get Swindle to give him his entire inventory for a hundred shanix and an expired coupon to a closed bar. If he needed to, he could figure out how to be a nurturing parent. 

“Trust me, Crux,” Megatron said, “Starscream isn’t that easy to kill. I know. As for the autobots...Optimus wouldn’t dare attack the  _ Nemesis _ head on. He’s too weak.” 

He couldn’t exactly guarantee that, but, given the resource scarcity, an all out assault wasn’t a viable option right now. Most of both sides forces were scattered across the galaxy searching for energon and even he only had vague rumors of where his own troops were operating. Optimus was probably having the same problem. If Starscream would let him perform Shockwave’s little procedure on Crux, they’d have another warrior to add to their ranks. As it stands, keeping Starscream happy was more productive than looking over his shoulder. 

The little mech still looked worried. “But what if--”

“Quiet. When you grow up, you’re going to be one of my fiercest warriors. No autobot will be able to take you...or those you wish to protect. I will personally see to it. Go back to bed, we can begin your training tomorrow.” 

He watched Crux’s optics go wide and nod his head vigorously. The little mech hopped down off of his lap and hurried back to his room. Starscream was going to be a little upset about that arrangement, but Megatron knew how to calm him down. Besides, it was only a matter of time before Megatron got  _ his  _ way and Crux joined the war and fulfilled Starscream’s promise of a useful new soldier. After all, how great would it be to see the autobots brought down by one of their own?

 

_ *The  _ Nemesis,  _ present* _

Starscream and Crux were sitting on Crux’s bed. Little Crux was curled up next to him, concentrating more on the wall than on the datapad Starscream was reading to him. It was one he’d read a hundred times. The sparkling gets lost in space and then, before she gets eaten by a space monster, her creator comes to rescue her. Starscream usually made sure to show him pictures of spark eaters or energon monsters to drive the point home as a way to scare Crux into not running away. Tonight, though, it was different. He knew that scare tactic wasn’t in either of their best interests right now. 

“Are you paying attention?” Starscream asked, giving Crux a little shake. The little mech’s big blue optics lazily looked up at him. “This is very important information.” 

Crux shrugged. “I know. Don’t leave the spaceship and don’t run away.”

Starscream, normally, would have nodded. His sparkling had learned the rules he had set and knew why he should follow them. There was nothing to question about safety. This time, though, he shook his head. “No, it shows you what to look for if you’re alone in space.”

The little mech now seemed much more interested and much more confused. Also, there was a flicker of excitement in his optics. The only time Crux had been allowed to go in space was when one of the vehicons--without Starscream’s knowledge--had brought him out for a repair job. Starscream had been slightly impressed at how Crux had talked his way into that at such a young age. The little mech had blabbed his audials off about the exact thirty minutes he’d spent in the least interesting sector of the galaxy for the next three cycles. At least he hadn’t been outwardly afraid. That was a good sign. 

“Are we going back into space? Are you going to teach me how to fly in space? I wanna go--” 

Starscream shushed him. “You’re going to learn. Now, pay attention to what I tell you.” 

Little Crux was almost vibrating at the thought of going to space and Starscream’s spark ached. This conversation should have happened a while ago. He didn’t know why he was starting to get upset at teaching Crux survival skills, especially now. It was...counterproductive. The future he’d put a lot of work into securing needed to be protected. Crux would understand. Just like he would understand everything Starscream had ever done. It would just be when he was old enough to. Before that, Starscream was just going to have to hope that he didn’t start hating him. 

“When you’re in space, the most important thing is to know where you’re going,” Starscream said. 

Crux pointed to the colorful drawing of the monster and said, “Or I’ll get eaten by a monster?” 

“Perhaps...but I’m more worried about you getting yourself lost. If you lose your way out there, it’ll be a very long time before you find your way back. If you come back at all.” There was no point in sugarcoating this. “Make sure the have your destination set. Be sure to be well supplied too because, since the war, there aren’t many stops in the galaxy left.”

Crux nodded, sitting up straight now to show that he was paying attention. A space explorer, that’s what Crux had said he’d wanted to be when he grew up. Starscream had done his best to squash that exploration before it was able to shape the little mech’s whole life. It wasn’t safe now. Not if he was going to be wearing a Decepticon brand. Primus, Starscream barely wanted Crux to be flying around in space. If Crux were to survive whatever antics Megatron was pulling this week, then he would need to be able to...even if he was just a sparkling. 

Just a sparkling…

“So, there might be a time when...it gets too dangerous for you to be here, on the  _ Nemesis _ ,” Starscream said carefully. 

“Why? Does it have to do with that purple energon? Or that thing Megatron was talking about with sparklings?” 

“Wha--where did you hear about that last part?”

Crux averted his optics. “Uh…”

Starscream shook his head. The eavesdropping really needed to be addressed before Crux ticked off the wrong person and ended up getting punished by someone other than Starscream. He needed to learn how to not mention anything. Well, not mention it until the right moment and had whoever it was whose plans you were ruining was quaking with fear. Besides, there were things that Crux didn’t need to know. Things like the procedure Megatron had infuriatingly suggested that shouldn’t even be on the table when it came to Crux. He needed to get the plan settled before Megatron lost his mind even more. Before Crux was finally caught in the crossfire. 

“Nevermind,” Starscream said. “As I was saying, there might be a time when you’re going to have to...leave. When that happens, I want you to take a few energon cubes from the stockpile and  _ don’t get caught _ . The last thing we need is for you to get dragged back before you can leave. Next, you sneak off. You’re a little  _ too _ good at sneaking around, so I know that’ll be the easy part.”

Starscream watched Crux both cringe and look proud at the same time. Where the little mech got his habit of sneaking around, Starscream feigned not having any idea. It was just a rebellious streak, he’d tell people, despite the fact that Crux was a little young to be rebelling against anything other than bed time and going to the medic. Well, at least according to that outdated book. Megatron used to laugh at that. Then he would tell Starscream that it wasn’t a rebellious streak, it was Starscream’s inane life lessons he was teaching the little mech. Crux was going to be too big to easily sneak around when he was older. 

“Once you’re off the  _ Nemesis _ I want you...I want you to go to the autobots.”

Crux scrambled onto his knees as if to try to be on eye level with Starscream. “The autobots? Starscream, they’re the enemy! They kidnapped me! Why would I go--”

“Hush. Listen. The autobots directly under  _ Optimus Prime  _ aren’t barbarians who steal sparklings for their own personal gain. They’ll take you in. Give you energon. Make sure that you didn’t sustain any damage. This won’t be forever. Once you’ve gained their trust, steal their energon and run. I already gave you Thundercracker and Skywarp’s coordinates. Go to them, they’ll...they’ll take care of you.”

Crux wasn’t having it. It was obvious in his optics. Starscream blamed Megatron’s “victory or death” ideology he liked to instill in unsuspecting bots so they wouldn’t question his orders. Nevertheless, the little mech nodded and listened to Starscream talk about what types of stations and planets to avoid. It was still good information to have. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! World of Warcraft is right next to google chrome on my laptop and every time I'd go to work on some writing...I'd remember how close I was to unlocking the Nightborne and they're kinda hot...


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, um, this got extremely dark. Sorry. :/ It was darker but there was a lot of debate in me over what was going to be too much so I changed it.

Crux was not going to the autobots. That was that on that. Starscream was just going to have to deal with it (hopefully well). Running away wouldn’t solve anything! In fact, it would probably just make everything worse since Lord Megatron was still space crazy. He needed to stay. Keeping as quiet as possible, he hid under one of the monitors on the bridge and watched everyone's peds stomp by. The latest vehicon babysitter was currently asleep...and Crux had taken some initiative by tying him up with some spare cables he’d “found” in a supply closet. It probably wouldn’t hold for long. The vehicon had slept through it, though, so maybe he was in luck with that. Lord Megatron’s return probably hadn’t let anyone relax. Things were moving quickly now because the autobots had forced Starscream to blow the energon mine. They needed to be stopped. Lord Megatron had apparently already started his master plan with the purple energon too. 

Starscream’s thrusters stepped right in front of Crux. Soundwave’s peds were standing next to them. Did they know he was here? Had they found the vehicon? Oh scrap, if they did, he’d be in so much trouble. He had a bad feeling that Starscream was going to actually crack down on his sneaking around after last night’s conversation. What else was he supposed to do, though? No one was talking about how Lord Megatron had...had done that. There was something really wrong. He needed to figure out what to do to help make things normal again. 

“Did Laserbeak obtain the human?” 

Human? What did Starscream want with a human? Sometimes, the vehicons would turn on some Earth television programs to keep him entertained while they went to do something else. Humans were strange. They were funny, but they were strange. His favorite show had been one where humans solved crimes other humans committed, mostly because he’d liked to see if he could figure out who did it. Unfortunately, Starscream walked in on him watching once and he’d never seen the vehicon who had been watching him again. He did still sneak a few episodes, but only when he was sure there was no chance of Starscream walking in. Nothing could explain what Starscream wanted with a human, though. 

Soundwave nodded. Starscream smiled, rubbing his hands together. “Excellent. I must see to our guest. After all, why would he tell us where his autobot friends are if we’re rude? Have one of the vehicons bring me a prod.” 

Crux watched Starscream begin to walk away. Starscream wanted to find the autobots? It better be to destroy their base or something and not just drop him off so he wouldn’t “get hurt” or go through that procedure. Autobots wanted to kill decepticons. Crux was a decepticon…sorta. They’d probably throw him in the brig until he was old enough for them to justify getting rid of him. Either that, or they’d brainwash him. He didn’t care what Starscream said. The autobots wouldn’t give him the opportunity to escape to Thundercracker and Skywarp. It would just be going from the...how did that human on that program put it? Out of the frying pan and into the line of fire? Well, he didn’t know exactly what a frying pan was, but he knew being shot at probably wasn’t fun. Clearly, the space madness was contagious and he was the only one immune to it. He needed to put a stop to--

He felt a cable wrap around him and begin to drag him out from his hiding place. Despite his struggling, he was soon pulled in between Starscream and Soundwave. The latter let him go and walked away. Crux slowly looked up at Starscream, whose arms were crossed over his chassis and looked very, very angry. Oh scrap. The last time Starscream had been this angry, it had been when Crux had--successfully--broken into his desk drawer and left all his datapads on the floor in search of energon treats. It didn’t help that Crux had back-talked him by saying that the drawer had been left unlocked. He’d felt bad after, though, because, the next day, Starscream had gone out on a mission with Lord Megatron and come back with a broken wing. He must have been distracted because Crux had broken the rules. 

Starscream tapped his ped while waiting for Crux to scramble up. “You were told to stay in your room.” 

Crux decided to try to get out of this. “What? This isn’t my room? I think I got lost.” 

“Don’t insult me like this, I raised you better.” Starscream said. Then, his voice got that tone that let Crux know he would follow through with any threats. “Go to your room and stay there until  _ I  _ say you can come out. If a vehicon even says you  _ looked  _ at your door, you will not see the light of day until you’re a full grown mech. Do you understand?” 

Crux looked down at his peds. “Yes, sir.” 

“Good. Now run along and stay out of trouble.” He pointed at one of the vehicons. “You! Make sure Crux gets to his room and stays there.”

The vehicon nodded. Crux walked out of the room with his head hanging and his shoulders slumped. The vehicons were going to be a lot more attentive now that a human was on board, so he doubted escaping was going to be as easy as it had been. Plus, he had a feeling that Soundwave was also on alert. Both Lord Megatron and Starscream had plans and a sparkling like Crux wasn’t going to get in the way. That didn’t mean he was going to abandon his plans. No! A good decepticon never strays from the cause! If space madness was making everyone, well, crazy, then he needed to do his part and stop it. They wouldn’t be locking him in his room after that. 

It was a pretty uneventful walk back to his room and an even more uneventful stay in his room. The other vehicon was still napping, so the other one just dumped him out of the chair and told him to report to the bridge. Once that vehicon was gone, the other vehicon put his chair in front of the door so Crux wouldn’t leave, then turned on a boring human television show with puppets explaining the human alphabet. It was very boring. Crux wondered if Starscream had started his punishment early with this. At least he still had a datapad that he could write his plans out on, or, at least, start them and then delete them because they were stupid. How did Starscream and Lord Megatron make battle plans so easily? Or, at least, it seemed like they could do it easily. The were probably taught how. That was it. No one’s probably ever had to deal with what Crux is dealing with. He was going to have to be his own teacher and wing it. 

Part of him was kind of worried that Lord Megatron was going to actually do any of the threats that he said. After all, he had space madness. The sparkling procedure must be bad if  _ Starscream  _ openly threatened to hurt Lord Megatron over it. Yeah, he sometimes vented in private about it, but he was usually so loyal. Yes, he knew Starscream and Lord Megatron didn’t exactly like each other anymore, but he’d never thought they’d be threatening to hurt each other. He didn’t know what he’d do if either of them got hurt really badly.  It’s why he needed to help them. 

He was looking over the datapad with the words  _ “Crux’s Big Secret Plan”  _ typed out really big when loud noises started happening outside the door. It was muffled, but Crux knew blaster fire when he heard it. The vehicon stood up and put a hand to his audial to activate his comms. Crux stood up too, clutching his datapad close to him. Was a weapon malfunctioning? He doubted the vehicon would be this stiff if it was. 

The vehicon took his hand off of his comm and readied his weapon. Looking down at Crux, he said, “Stay here, stay safe. I’ll be right back.” 

Crux nodded, hoping this would turn out to be nothing. Maybe Starscream would come running and make everything better. The vehicon opened the door and stepped outside, turning to where the noises came from to investigate. After what felt like a very long time but really turned out to be only a few seconds, Crux inched his way to the door. Peeking out, he watched the vehicon move just out of sight. He stepped out into the corridor.  _ Woosh. _ The door slid shut behind him. Everything was quiet. Only the creaking of the ship and the sounds of the vehicon’s footsteps could be heard. Maybe it had been a false alarm? Primus knows the vehicons did some weird things. He should just go back--

_ Bang! Bang! Crash! _

Crux jumped as he watched the vehicon fall over. Beginning to back up, he hoped the vehicon’s twitching servo meant that he would be alright. He heard heavy footsteps coming towards him. A large, green mech rounded the corner. The autobot symbol was on his chest and he was armed. Feeling the oil well up in his optics, Crux dropped the datapad and began to run away. He needed to find Starscream. Or Soundwave. Or a vehicon. Anybody. They were being invaded. He needed to sound the alarm. It’s what...it’s what a good decepticon would do. That way, people would know he needed help.

He rounded the corner. There were splatters of energon on the wall and he could hear the sounds of fighting ahead of him. Behind him, he could hear someone coming towards him. He didn’t want to take the chance that it was an ally. Looking both ways, he sped towards the bridge so he could sound the alarm. Technically, he wasn’t even supposed to use the comms. This was an emergency, though. He was a good decepticon. One who wanted to help Starscream and Lord Megatron from making decisions based on the space craziness. One who wanted to stop the autobots from invading and hurting them. He had to wipe the tears from his eyes again. A good, brave, decepticon who cared about his other decepticons and their cause. That’s what they would say about him. 

The bridge was just ahead, along with a trail of energon. He slowed up. Okay, he just needed to take a peak in and see. If the autobots had taken the bridge...he’d need to get off the ship. It’s what Starscream would want him to do. He didn’t know where he would go, though. After this, he  _ most definitely _ was not going to the autobots. He’d have to find Lord Megatron. The only thing was, he didn’t even know Lord Megatron’s current plans. This is why they should let him--

“Don’t move, ‘con!” 

Crux spun around before his processor could comprehend that he was told not to move. The first thing he saw was a blaster in his face. Behind the blaster was a blue autobot whose expression was slowly changing from hard anger to shock. She began to lower the weapon and Crux took that chance to run, letting the tears fall down his face. Behind him, he could hear her say something about a kid being on board. 

The first storage closet he came across, he jumped in. He went to the furthest corner and huddled against the wall. 

 

*************

When Crux wasn’t in his room, Starscream panicked. If the autobots had gotten a hold of him during their little rescue mission, his entire plan was ruined. If he’d been entirely wrong about their morals, Crux might be hurt. Crux better not be hurt. If they had harmed a single servo on him, they’d wished they’d never laid optics on him. When Starscream wanted something, nothing was going to stop him from trying to get it short of death and even that he wasn’t so sure of. Crux was a key piece of his plan. Without him, he wouldn’t have a steadfast ally; someone who would help him win and keep power when the time was right. He couldn’t imagine a life without him. It was too painful. 

He hoped Crux hadn’t seen anything. War was hard enough to explain without showing Crux the horrors of it. Yes, he’d been on the  _ Nemesis  _ when they’d been fired on. Yes, Starscream had made sure to never coddle him so that he could grow up to stomach it. However, a little mech wasn’t ready to see people getting torn apart. Had Starscream made a mistake in having the vehicons constantly watching over him when he himself couldn’t? Perhaps. Crux did seem to like them. Unfortunately, they were cannon fodder at best, even the ones who were good at what they do. It wasn’t like Starscream had a range of options with the energon scarcity and the decepticons scattered; he made due with what he had. He really hoped Crux hadn’t seen the trail of bodies the autobots had left. 

Megatron still hadn’t returned from whatever he was up to. A good sign either way. Starscream hoped it meant he’d gotten himself killed. That purple energon had finally seeped into his spark and had given him a slow, painful death. Who was to say that he wouldn’t come back as a zombie, though? Starscream had already hoped he’d spared Crux from seeing one of those horrors, if Megatron came shambling in...he didn’t want to think about that. On the other hand, if Optimus Prime had killed him, Starscream would have a legitimate claim for leadership again. He wouldn’t have to worry about Crux being forced to undergo any procedures. 

When he passed by one of the supply closets, he heard a sound. It was soft, almost unnoticeable. Starscream opened the door. “Crux?” 

The little mech was huddled in the corner, sobbing. He looked up at Starscream with tears running down his face. Why couldn’t he ever stay in his room? Crux got up and ran over to Starscream, almost knocking him over with the force of his hug. The little mech sobbed for a good ten minutes. 

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t know what to do! I couldn’t find you! Starscream! Starscream!”

Starscream shushed him. “It’s alright. You’re alright. The autobots are gone. Everything is going to be fine. We’re going to be fine.” 

 

*****

Megatron walked back onto the  _ Nemesis _ , fuming. Soundwave’s report showed that Starscream’s little attempt to be useful went horribly wrong, as per usual. Not to mention, Prime was still alive. Nothing had gone to plan, but that didn’t mean he was going to fail. He wasn’t going to stop until all the autobots were dead and he ruled with absolute certainty. Starscream would have to be dealt with. Now. The constant betrayals and then attempts to show that he was useful was becoming more than just an amusing nuisance. While he’d be down an air commander, he wouldn’t be down a soldier. Starscream had one waiting in the wings. With him out of the way, Megatron would be able to go about his plans with only the autobots as opposition and he’d be able to finally proceed with that procedure on Crux. There’d be no more dead weight on the  _ Nemesis.  _ Soundwave had also handed him another convenient excuse. With that in hand, he called a meeting on the bridge to address what had transpired over today. 

Starscream was the easiest to deal with. Megatron had simply planned on grinding Starscream’s head into the bridge floor with his ped, then throwing what was left of him into an ocean to rust. However, as usual, Starscream proved himself just useful enough to keep alive. At least the display would keep the other troops in line. Crux was being held in place by Soundwave the entire time, looking both terrified and angry. Determined, even. Well, given whatever ideas had popped into his head, Megatron almost commended him. He certainly was a loyal decepticon. 

Megatron took his ped off of Starscream and let the air commander scramble to his knees. “Thank you, Lord Megatron, thank--”

“I’m done with you, for now.” Megatron walked towards Crux, who looked up at him with those annoyingly blue optics of his. “Your brat needs to be dealt with.” 

Starscream gasped. “Lord...Lord Megatron, surely, punishing a child for running from the enemy is a little excessive. He’s never seen the  _ Nemesis  _ get invaded before. Please, let me deal with him, as I always have.” 

“‘As you always have?’” Megatron turned back to his cowering air commander. “You’ve only filled his head with lies and your idiocies.” He threw the datapad at Starscream’s peds. “It seems he takes after you, trying to undo me. You should be proud.” 

Starscream’s optics went wide after he read the datapad and then he looked over at Crux, who was beginning to cry. How childish. “I just wanted to help.” 

“Oh, you will. Soundwave, begin the sparkling procedure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, I cannot name things creatively.  
> Also, sorry for the long wait...I'm gonna try to get better at that...  
> Thanks for reading! I appreciate you all!


	6. Chapter 5

“Megatron! Megatron, my lord, please! You promised!” Starscream didn’t know what else to do except make himself the most pathetic thing in existence as he followed them all to the medbay. All for an autobot sparkling he’d chosen to call his own.

Megatron threw him off of his arm. “And _you_ promised _me_ loyalty. If a promise means nothing to you, then it means nothing to me.”

They both followed after Soundwave, who had a struggling, crying Crux in one of his tentacles. A few vehicons who were cleaning up the mess the autobots had made themselves scarce as soon as they saw them coming. Starscream continued to plead, but it was clear Megatron wasn’t listening. This was a complete disaster. All the hard work he’d put into raising Crux, all the time spent teaching him and raising him to be a decepticon and a loyal ally was about to go to waste. All because Megatron’s damned ego was hurt because a little mech who hadn’t even developed all of his details had called him crazy. Well, maybe the truth hurts more. Scrap. He needed to salvage this.

“Isn’t this just a distraction from your grand plan, my lord?” Starscream asked, trying to sound as sincere as possible. “Surely, this could wait until after your victory?”

Megatron glared back at him. “They still need to add the finishing touches to the space bridge, Starscream. Plus, we now need to take over satellites thanks to you. The answer’s no.”

Crux, to his credit, was still trying to act intimidating with tears streaming down his face. “You should take a nap instead! You’re not acting like the Lord Megatron I know! He wouldn’t do this!”

Megatron rolled his optics. Starscream wanted to hug Crux, but he had a feeling he’d get a fusion cannon blast to the back if he did. Perhaps he should have let Crux seen more of the war, just so he could know that this is exactly what Megatron and Starscream himself had done. Was it wrong for Starscream to want a relatively normal sparklinghood for Crux after telling so many other parents that wasn’t an option? No. Everyone wants their child to turn out normal. To be happy until the universe said they couldn’t. Happiness needed to be taken, but children were given it freely because they didn’t know any better. It seemed it was Crux’s time to learn that...unless…

The medbay rarely got used unless there were serious injuries. Currently, it was empty. The autobots had simply torn most of the vehicons apart. Most of the equipment lay waiting for some unlucky mech to shamble in here. Starscream knew they were heading to the back section where they kept the cupboard of procedure supplies. It was even labeled so one of the vehicons didn’t accidentally mess around in the cupboard; synthesizing the required serum was a lot harder ever since Soundwave had been...killed by autobots. That wasn’t to say it was impossible. Starscream had made it on several occasions and he knew certain bases had scientists competent enough to make it as well. Finding the right resources was almost impossible on this damned planet.

Soundwave set Crux down on the table. The poor little mech was shaking, but Starscream knew he wasn’t going to try to run with Megatron looming over him. Soundwave went to the cupboard and pulled out a vial of the glowing purple serum and a syringe, filling the syringe. He hoped this worked. If it didn’t, it would still at least salvage his relationship with Crux. A parent who stood by and did nothing was harder to forgive than one who tried. That had been in that book about sparklings.

“Lord Megatron, please, may I calm him down? It will make things less difficult, if this is truly how you see fit to punish a sparkling.” Starscream said.

The fragging glitch looked him over, probably trying to figure out if Starscream was going to try to grab Crux and run. Did this glitch not know him at all? “Very well, but then I want you out. Parents can get...violent and you don’t need to embarrass yourself further.”  
“Thank you for your generosity, my lord.”

Starscream moved past him, ignoring the eye roll. Crux looked up at him with his big blue optics, looking for a savior just as he had so many years ago. Well, Starscream hoped not to disappoint. The least this entire incident would do was drive Crux right into his fold permanently. It seems Megatron had lost sight of that. A mech who couldn’t see the bigger picture didn’t deserve to lead. One who would traumatize a little mech who idolized him rather than have patience and let him grow into a good decepticon didn’t deserve to lead. If anything, this was just proof of Megatron’s incompetence. Starscream hoped saving Crux would save him from falling down the same spiral. It was the only way he’d be able to take over once Megatron was offline for good.

Pulling Crux into a tight hug, he whispered to the little mech, “ _Remember our plan,”_ before telling him much louder how everything was going to be okay. He felt Crux nod against him. Primus, he hoped this worked.

When he felt Megatron grab his wing, he pulled away and straightened up. Soundwave was standing a lot closer now. With another goodbye, he left the room. Once the door was shut, he transformed and sped off to the bridge. There were so many things that could go wrong. So many things that could make this worse, but, no plan was without risk. Crux was a smart little mech. If something went wrong, he’d figure out how to contact him. It didn’t stop Starscream’s spark from hammering in it’s chamber at the thought of Crux being out their on his own. Damn Megatron to the Pits.

Once he landed on the bridge, he sounded the alarm and hoped everyone followed protocol.

 

***************************

When the alarm sounded, both Megatron and Soundwave looked at each other before running to the bridge to see the disturbance. They left the door open. Crux hopped off of the table, ignoring the stinging in his left side. He peeked out the doorway and looked both ways before running towards the hangar. Most of the vehicons going to their stations ignored him. His spark pounded. What would he do if he was caught? Megatron would be angry. Well, more angry. He’d probably get locked up somewhere for forever. Starscream wouldn’t be able to get him out and he’d rust or something. No. He needed to escape. For Starscream. For himself. For the decepticons. Maybe, when he was gone, everyone would see how crazy they were acting.

There were a few fliers in the hangar bay, but it seems the rest hadn’t made it up here yet. All of the fliers were deep in conversation with each other. Crux took his chance and, sticking to the far wall so he wouldn’t accidentally alert them, moved as quietly as he could into the open air. His tanks somersaulted as he broke into a run towards the end. He’d never been away from the _Nemesis_ by himself, let alone been away for more than a few hours at most. But he knew he couldn’t go back now. It was either this or do the procedure. He chose to run. If Starscream thought this was the best option, then it probably was.

He looked back at the hangar bay one last time, half hoping to see Starscream there. The tears were welling up in his optics again. Ignoring the part of him that wanted to run back inside, he tore his gaze away from the ship and transformed. He wobbly took off, still ignoring the pain in his side. He didn’t know where he was going. He didn’t know what he would do for energon or where he would recharge. Skywarp and Thundercracker were too far away. Any decepticon on this planet would probably send him right back to Megatron and that would be bad. Starscream wanted him to go to the autobots. He didn’t want to. They were scary. One had pointed a blaster in his face. Maybe he could just--

_“Crux, it’s Starscream. I’m sending you the coordinates with the most autobot sightings. Head there, stay safe, and earn their trust. You will be alright. I’ll come get you when it’s safe.”_

The comm cut off before Crux could say anything. Another ping gave him the coordinates and he used his internal GPS to adjust his route accordingly. He felt his spark beat faster and he was getting really hot despite the cold air around him. This wasn’t fair. Kicked out of his own home for trying to help and forced to go to the enemy. But he needed to. If he tried to go somewhere else, Starscream might not be able to find him and they’d never see eachother again. He needed to be brave, like a good decepticon. Like Starscream. Like Megatron before he went off into space. Like everyone. If that meant going behind enemy lines, then he’d do it. It wouldn’t be forever.

Everything would be alright, like Starscream said.

 

**************************************

Ratchet was scanning for more decepticon activity while it was quiet. By quiet, it meant that Miko was gone. The revelation that the decepticons were building a space bridge coupled with the fact that Megatron could raise the dead had everyone on edge. Arcee had taken Jack home for the night. Bumblebee had dropped off Rafael and was, hopefully, on his way back. According to the monitor, Bulkhead was out in the desert doing something with Miko instead of taking her home. Optimus had said protecting these human children was a priority. At least they were giving the others a small distraction from this never-ending war. He could live with that.

“ _Uh, Ratchet,”_ Bulkhead’s voice came on over the comms, “ _can you come to my position and bring Optimus too.”_

Ratchet sighed. _“If Miko convinced you to get yourself stuck somewhere…”_

_“Ratchet!”_ Miko’s excited voice almost broke his audials. _“We were driving down a hill and all of a sudden this spaceship thing comes out of the sky and I thought it was Fowler but it transformed and landed and now we’re going to investigate!”_

He thought humans needed to breathe to live. A transformer, though? A spaceship thing? That could either be Cosmos or Jetfire. Unfortunately, he was pretty sure Cosmos was on the opposite side of the universe with Blaster monitoring a decepticon outpost and Jetfire was doing research on some iceball planet. Of course, that information could have changed in the time they’d been stuck on Earth. He had a feeling they would have contacted, though. So, unless Miko was seeing things, this shuttle might be a decepticon or even a low-ranking ally that had seen their beacon. Either way, Bulkhead and Miko shouldn’t make up the welcoming party.

 

Optimus was able to get a few more details out of Bulkhead on their drive down. The bot was a shuttle, but they was too small to be a shuttle. Bulkhead had scared the little bot enough that they were hiding behind a large rock outcropping, but was open to talking. How he had figured that out, Ratchet could only guess. That very basic description made Ratchet guess they were dealing with a sparkling. Arcee said something about seeing a sparkling on the _Nemesis_. If it’s the same one then they would have to find a way to deal with that. The decepticons had a way of dealing with sparklings that broke every ethical code ever written, but it that procedure had been made by Shockwave so it was unsurprising. Perhaps the little bot had wised up to what was going to happen and ran away.

They pulled up to where Bulkhead and Miko were standing and transformed. Bulkhead had his headlights on. In the distance, he could see the little bot poking his head out from around the corner. Yup. Definitely a sparkling. He let Optimus take the lead on this one. Apparently, he wasn’t good with children. However, he kept his optics on the sky just in case this was a decoy planted by the decepticons. It wouldn’t be the first time they used a sparkling to lure a bunch of unsuspecting autobots to their doom. He wondered what happened to that sparkling after that.

Optimus kept his distance, but knelt down and extended his hand. “It’s alright, little one. My name is Optimus Prime and no one will here will hurt you.”

The sparkling eyed them all suspiciously. “My name is Crux and how do I know you’re telling the truth?”

“You have my word.”

The sparkling looked at them all again before reluctantly coming out from his not-so-great hiding spot. “If you try anything, I’ll...I’ll throw a rock at your head.”

“I like this kid,” Miko said.

He certainly was a brave little bot. Crux was young, but he probably only had a few hundred years left before he reached his pre-teen stage. His wings were still developing to accommodate more thrusters for his alt-mode. Some of his plating still hadn’t fused together, but it sounded like he could transform easily. There didn’t seem to be any damage to him, either. In fact, he seemed well cared for. There were a few added paint accents on him and someone had most definitely modded his servos for some reason, but, other than that, he was a healthy, meshy, little sparkling. Ratchet would have to take a closer look, though. Who knows where this sparkling had come from or why he wasn’t with his parents. Though, something told him that the sparkling didn’t have parents anymore.

Optimus looked back at them. “Bulkhead, take Miko home and then inform Arcee and Bumblebee of what happened.” Miko began to protest, but Bulkhead was able to get her to agree to go home. Optimus then said, “Crux, this is our doctor, Ratchet. Can he make sure you’re alright?”

Ratchet walked over, taking his medical scanner out of his subspace. If he could get a CNA sample, he might be able to find out who his parents were. He personally hadn’t heard anything anything about any autobots having sparklings around the one’s age. There had been rumors about Starscream having one, which were given credit by Arcee seeing a sparkling on the _Nemesis_. Crux wasn’t a seeker, though. He didn’t even bear any resemblance to Starscream or any other decepticon on Earth that they knew of.

The little bot nodded. “Yeah.”  He then pointed to his left side right near his wing. “It hurts right here.”

“Alright, I’ll take a look,” Ratchet said.

He began to scan Crux. No external damage except, the spot where Crux had said it hurt, turned out to be a small injection site. That wasn’t good. The portable scanner wasn’t picking up anything which could either mean it was a bug implant or something worse. Who was this sparkling? To make matters worse, he was picking up an accelerated spark rate and an increase in body temperature.

“Optimus, we need to get him back to base. Stat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk how I feel about this chapter, but it's here!  
> Honestly, I lowkey just want to throw Crux and Starscream onto Griffin Rock with the rescue bots, but that would be too easy...  
> Thanks for reading, you guys are the best!

**Author's Note:**

> If there is a canon transformer named Crux, this is not that transformer but my own OC. Thank you for reading!


End file.
